A Little Lady's Fury
by thecrazydragonlady15
Summary: Chat Noir's hands are full when a new akuma turns everyone he shoots into angry, stronger-than-normal minions. It especially doesn't help that Marinette is hit, seems to have a vendetta against him, and Ladybug is nowhere to be found! Just how unlucky can one cat get? Rated T for safety reasons.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hi all! Long time no see. So, listen, I'm probably digging myself into a hole here but I am starting another story but this time, I'm partnered with aeonthedimensionalgirl. She made a post on Tumblr talking about a headcannon idea for a story that has a situation similar to that found in Dark Cupid between Ladybug and Chat Noir (I won't go into many more details for the sake of spoilers) but instead of Chat being the one that's hit, Marinette is. The idea is all hers! I know, I know. I'm still working on ORAD and the one shots. I am. The thing is is that I'm having a hard time staying motivated. The more I have to do, the more options I have. I know that sucks but it's how I'm going to have to operate for the next month. Please just bear with me! Anyway, enough of that. Enjoy the story!**

 **Chapter 1**

Everyone in Paris was nervous around Valentine's day. Breaths were held, couples shook nervously in checkout lines, lists were made and remade and rethought as the day came ever closer. Especially since the previous year had nearly been ruined by the akuma named Dark Cupid, a kid horribly rejected by the girl he was crushing on, turned into the reverse of the often cheery, cherub character of mythology, who tore relationships of all kinds apart with his dark arrows. Those who had witnessed it still spoke in hushed whispers about it. At school, Kim became quiet and withdrawn. Marinette frowned as she watched him; as Ladybug, she knew it wasn't his fault. If anyone was to blame, it was Hawkmoth but she did know how guilty the sounds of the whispers could make a person feel.

The day before the holiday, Kim didn't even appear at school.

Even Chloe didn't have the guts to make a comment about it either; she mostly stayed in her compact and Marinette couldn't help but note an almost regretful spark in her eyes. Almost. Max softly adjusted the glasses on his face and told everyone he would be visiting him afterschool. They'd all eyed each other and together, they got him a non-Valentine's day card, as well as getting funny, cheap toys for him to play with.

"Man, it has to suck knowing your akumatized self nearly ruined a special holiday," Alya noted to Marinette at the end of the day, watching Max leave with the gifts in tow. Alix ran up after him, briefly stopping to say something to which he nodded, and together, they left the room. Marinette nodded, grabbing her bag.

"It wasn't his fault. Hawkmoth's the one to blame."

"You know that. I know that. Hawkmoth probably knows that but you know how people can be."

"Cruel. Yeah, I know." She placed her bag over her shoulder as the two of them followed them out of the room. Alya smirked and grabbed her arm. She leaned in close to the shorter girl, whispering in her ear, "Speaking of Valentine's day. What are you going to do this year with Adrien?" Marinette blinked. Her face erupted red and she let out an unhuman sound. The darker skinned girl giggled.

"I-I wasn't planning on anything," she eventually managed and confessed, "Especially since last year was a disaster."

"I disagree. Last year was definitely _not_ a disaster. You posted the poem!"

"Yeah but obviously I forgot to sign my name!"

"A small detail."

"But an important one." Alya paused.

"True but we can definitely make sure that doesn't happen again this year. I'll make sure to proof read your confession letter." Marinette smiled sadly and patted her hand.

"Thanks Alya but I'm not…."

"Oh no you don't," she cut in. The blue-eyed girl blinked. Alya led her out of the school, down the stairs, eventually crossing the street towards the bakery. She continued to talk as they did so, "You are going to at least send something to Adrien this year. You can't let all of your progress go to waste!"

She opened the door to the bakery. Sabine, standing behind the cash register while serving a few customers, greeted the both of them, quickly handed them a cookie each, before returning to her tasks. The girls went upstairs. Their bags hit the floor near her lounge where they took a seat facing each other. Alya bit into her cookie. Marinette chewed hers much slower. Finally, she wistfully stated, "Even if I wanted to do something for Adrien, I don't have enough time. Valentine's day is tomorrow!"

"That's not true. Why don't you write him another poem?" Her cheeks turned red. Turning a bit made it easy enough for her to shoot her eyes across her desk, where the crumpled, slightly torn and faded, piece of paper stayed tacked on her small pink magnet board. She read it almost daily. She knew the words by heart. _Your hair is dark as night, Your pretty bluebell eyes. I wonder who you are beneath that strong disguise. Every day we see each other, I hope that you'll be mine. Together our love could be so true, please be my Valentine._ Her heart squeezed at the thought of the poem being meant for her but she was never able to confirm or deny it with him without coming off as being creepier than she already was (even though she had taken down the schedule and some of the photos in the last year). She wrung her hands together. "Look, it's not like you have anything to lose. You already sent a card last year and besides, the only way you have to go is up."

"Or crash hard," she mumbled. Alya shot her a look.

"I doubt it. You gotta have some faith in yourself Mari." She reached for her bag then. With a haughty smirk, Alya pulled out a pink, heart shaped card, identical to the one she'd provided to the girl last year, waving it back and forth in front of her face for a second. "And here's your chance."

"I don't…," she hesitated, breathing deep for a second. She paused in that time and thought quickly about what her friend was encouraging. "Al-alright. I'll do it."

Alya handed her the card. When she got up to walk to her desk, she let out a silent, triumphant fist pump, following her to the desk. Like she had the previous year, she watched over her friend's shoulder as she wrote. Marinette tapped her pen against her chin. Inspiration struck and she very quickly wrote across the paper. When she was done, she held it up for her friend to read properly. She squealed in delight. "Perfect!" She sat it on the desk. "Sign." Marinette swallowed hard again; Alya handed her the pen and waited with her arms crossed. She didn't have to say anything because the nervous girl already knew what she was thinking and she also knew that she wasn't going to be allowed to leave her seat until the deed was done. Deep breath. She signed her name. Alya hugged her neck excitedly, squealing again. "You did it!" Marinette smiled.

"Yeah… Yeah I did. I did it," she cheered. Alya's excitement was contagious. "Now I just need to send it."

"Exactly. Want to head down and do it now?" Marinette nodded ecstatically. The girls gathered their bags and headed down the stairs where Sabine greeted them and Tom provided them with the first candied apples for Valentine's day. Marinette giggled, linking arms with Alya.

"Do me a favor? Don't get these stuck on my shirt this year."

The other girl narrowed her eyes. "That's not fair. I wasn't exactly myself last year."

"I know." She poked her cheek. "Don't pout Alya. You know I was just teasing." The Martinique girl stuck her tongue out prompting her to giggle again. They left exactly as they had arrived. Arm-in-arm, they walked through the nearby park until they came out near the mailbox. Marinette's grip tightened on Alya's arm. She patted her hand.

"You got this girl." Marinette, pale in the face and starting to breathe a bit rougher, nodded. Alya bit her own lip as she watched her friend approach the mailbox, hesitated, hand shaking violently as she came closer and closer to the entrance. Her eyes darted back in forth as she watched her hesitation grow. "Come on girl. Don't chicken out now." With a final, nerve steeling breath, she finally pushed it in. They cheered again, hugging. "You did it! Again!" She nodded, taking back her apple.

"I did but… now what?"

"We go back to your place," Alya smiled, "to celebrate and then we wait. Adrien should get the letter tomorrow afternoon. We should know his response by Wednesday at the latest."

Marinette nodded. Her stomach did little flips, leaving her throat tight and unable to form words.

She'd never felt so ecstatic and scared at the same time in her life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I'm so happy I got a lot of responses to this story! The real thanks goes to Aeonthedimensionalgirl for letting me write her story. I hope everyone enjoys this new chapter!**

Hawkmoth knew that today was going to be the perfect day to make an akuma. After all, a holiday like Valentine's day always brought some kind of drama which meant that someone's emotions were going to end up being a mess and make them easy prey. In his secret lair, his window opened, allowing only the minimum amount of light into the room. The bright, white butterflies around him took flight as a smirk crossed his lips.

What a wonderful day to capture Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous!

Thomas' plans for the day hadn't been ending up at the Trocadéro with his head in his hands, anger radiating off every inch of his being. He'd messed up. Big time. He wouldn't be surprised if his sweetheart just decided that he wasn't worth the time or energy anymore and left. Just like that. Just like everyone else.

He screamed.

Other couples nearby stared at him. Some went out of their way to avoid him and others stared in concern. Nobody approached him though which was fine; he just wanted to sit and stew in his anger and frustration alone.

Then, he was peaceful, near quiet in his mind. His eyes glassed over as the purple butterfly mask appeared over his eyes and he knew, as a Parisian, what was happening. It was perfectly fine for him too. He dropped his hands from his head. A sneering voice greeted. "Love Rage, I am Hawkmoth. Being angry is only natural especially when they're being secretive and cold with you. More people should feel what you are currently feeling," the voice assured him. Thomas gripped his hands knuckle white against his pants. Where was the lie? Everyone around him looked at him as nothing more than an angry monster (considering he stood at a staggering height of six feet and three inches tall and was surprisingly muscular for a person of his stature) when he was certain that many of them had no room to judge him! A sneer crossed his lips.

"How can I help," he asked. Hawkmoth, hidden away somewhere in the confines of his lair, allowed his smile to grow wider.

"I will give you the power you need," he promised, "As long as you bring me the Miraculous of Ladybug and Chat Noir: the earrings and ring!"

He stood, the purple mask being clearly outlined on his face, squeezing his fist close. "Deal!"

The world melted to black.

Marinette felt absolutely sick to her stomach. She and Alya had appropriately celebrated her success in sending off the letter with a tiny party of sweets and movies in her room before the other girl had left for the evening. She had been giddy all night on patrol. Chat Noir had noticed too; he had tilted his head quizzically at her, shot a couple of puns and questions, but she fielded them only by saying that tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.

He thankfully had not pushed the issue.

Now as she sat in the first class of the day, her stomach felt like it had captured a lot of the akumas instead of her yo-yo. Her bluebell eyes darted around the room. First to the door, then to the board, then down to her sketchbook where she absently drew various hearts and a couple of new designs, a soft sigh escaping her lips as she worked. Alya waved a hand in front of her face at one point. When she didn't acknowledge, she smirked, leaning in close and whispering, "Hey Mari, Adrien's here."

The half-Asian yelped. A couple of other heads in the room eyed her questioningly but she flushed and waved to them. They returned to what they were doing as she glared at her giggling friend who definitely did not look apologetic by any stretch of the imagination. Mari stuck out her tongue.

"Not cool Alya."

"Girl, the way you were off dreaming, I had to get your attention some way." She held up her phone. Mari blinked at the sudden electronic brightness that was in her face. Alya had pulled up her pride and joy, the Ladyblog, and was in the middle of posting a new report. "Anyway, give me your feedback. I was thinking of doing a blog on how to incorporate some ladybug inspired gear into the everyday outfit since I did the post about ladybugs being symbols of love and fortune last year. Maybe a "luck your way into love" kind of article thing. It's cheesy. I know but it is a pretty popular topic. Especially around this time of year." Marinette rubbed her eyes.

"I think it's a cool idea. If anything, you can even hide it more by using just solid red and black accessories."

Alya scrolled up on her phone. "True. The spots don't necessarily have to be there but they do make it look cute." She nodded.

"Exactly. Do you need me to whip anything up for you? I have some left over fabric from that skirt project I did for you last month." The darker skinned girl smiled at her friend.

"That would be awesome! How about a bow and maybe a purse? Just cute, simple things you can get done easily." Marinette giggled and slid the sketchbook over to her. On the page were a couple of designs: hair bows, bow ties, ties, belts, purses, and jewelry of all kind. She leaned back in her seat as Alya gushed over the designs, flipping back and forth through some of the pages to see what other special offerings the girl could give.

"All of those would be pretty quick. Why don't we go back to my place during lunch to get them done?"

Alya nodded. She grabbed her bag and together, the two girls left the classroom. They were chatting animatedly when suddenly there was a scream behind them. They turned enough to see an akuma floating some distance above the ground, shooting people with some energy from his hands (honestly like every other akuma ever. Hawkmoth was really unoriginal with the spread of his akuma's influence). He was large. It was almost cartoonish as to how bulky he was. His hair was slicked back and there was a black spiked helmet on his head which matched the black colored mask he had over his face. His shoulders were covered by a thick, spiked leather jacket with the words "Love Rage" stitched on the back. He, like the other akumas and the heroes, had a skin tight suit underneath it. The ensemble ended in a pair of biker boots. He cackled, shooting again, "Everyone will feel Love's rage!" Marinette's face dropped when he turned on the two of them.

She was sure she would never forget the depraved look on his face, the twisted smirk, as he raised his hands at them, and fired.

There wasn't any time!

Mari did the only thing she could. She immediately jumped towards Alya, shouting, "Run!" The umber haired girl staggered but did as she was ordered. Her legs pumped like crazy. She wasn't even sure where she was going for a second until she ended up nearly collapsing in the front of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Several guests stared at her. Sabine gasped, moving quickly around the register to help her. Tom heard some commotion. He ducked his head out of the kitchen to see what was up. When he saw his daughter's friend nearly on the floor in his bakery, he went back in for a glass of water which he brought to her immediately. She took it. Alya downed half of it before she managed to explain what happened, "There's... There's an akuma. Mari and I had to run away. He was making a mess of the park area." The customers mumbled again. Sabine and Tom however, paled. The older woman grabbed her shoulders gently but firmly.

"Marinette was with you? Where is she?" Alya blinked. She turned quickly and too paled.

Marinette was missing!

Love Rage liked his newest minion.

The young girl, a dark haired half-Asian, had been rather heroic when she'd pushed her friend out of his blast to give her a chance to run away, but it hadn't saved her. She'd been hit. Square in the back. There was a gasped followed by a thud as she fell to the ground.

At first, he thought he might have accidentally knocked her out but she eventually pushed herself up, let loose a low, menacing growl as she reached up to pull her pigtails out. She shook her hair loose. Spinning revealed to him that his power had worked; her eyes were no longer a normal shade or even remotely normal as they had turned completely red. The others he had blasted came up behind her. They bowed. Love Rage smirked in approval. Raising his hand to point, he ordered them, "Go! Find Ladybug and Chat Noir and bring them to me."

The mindless minions grunted, taking off into the streets of Paris.

At first, no one knew what was going on. They stared in confusion at the people who came flooding into the public area at the same time, reaching for whatever they could, destroying and using to destroy. Those unfortunate enough to not run away ended up on the receiving end of several flying fists. The anger was tangible.

If Love Rage was anything, he wasn't a liar. There was no way he couldn't lie about having a favorite minion and it turned out to be the last one he'd turned; the half Asian girl with medium length dark hair. She was agile. Easily clearing a park bench, she landed, like a predatory cat, on an unfortunate man whose face was nearly destroyed as she purely _wailed_ on him. She was remorseless. Particularly when it came to couples. Anyone caught near her, especially pairs, were immediately lunged for, pummeled to a pile of pain and blood, before she would quickly and efficiently sprint off for the next person. He laughed.

His power worked the strongest on those who had love troubles.

Her troubles must be great.

His eyes scanned the horizon after finishing his admiration of her. Chat Noir and Ladybug were nowhere to be seen. The purple mask of Hawkmoth appeared on his face and the voice returned, "It's only a matter of time before they appear."

"Yes Hawkmoth," he agreed, "and when they do, I will be ready for them."

"Excellent. Make sure I get those Miraculouses Love Rage."

"Yes Hawkmoth."

The villain smiled, tightening his hands on the top of his cane. His heart pounded. This time would be different; he felt it. It would only be a matter of time, as he had told his pawn, before they appeared and the miraculous were finally, _finally_ , his. His eyes wandered through Love Rage's eyes, watching the chaos unfold on the streets of Paris, he couldn't help, like him, but be impressed with the young lady below. He knew her. Marinette Dupain-Cheng if he remembered correctly. Student at Collège Françoise Dupont. Winner of the derby competition the previous year. If memory continued to serve correctly, she was one of two students within her class that he had not yet akumatized. Her skills were impressive. She was strong, agile, lethal in appearance, and everything she did was with intention.

He mused as to how long it would before she finally had a purple mask of her own to wear.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I'm back! Just here to let everyone know again that I'm updating stories and catching up on all the work I haven't been able to do in the last month. I hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget to check out ORAD Chapter 11 (updated yesterday!).**

Adrien let loose another sigh as he slumped down onto his computer desk. All around his head were various gifts and cards for yet another Valentine's Day; admirers from all around Paris and France in general had sent him little things declaring their love and admiration for him but these were only trinkets to him. Only one thing would make his Valentine's Day perfect. He sighed again. There was no way Ladybug of all people would even have remotely considered sending him of all people a gift. She probably had a boyfriend anyway.

"If you sigh one more time, I will shove this camembert into your mouth," Plagg threatened. Adrien raised an eyebrow at him as the tiny black cat swallowed whole his third or fourth piece. He always got a little extra on holidays. "Just because the girl you like doesn't like you doesn't mean it's the end of the world. Just look at all the other stuff you got."

"But it doesn't mean anything if it isn't from her," he mused, sitting up in his chair. Adrien spun so that he could look out the window. It was an oddly clear day. He wondered if he should go for a run outside; maybe he would run into his lady and they would get the chance to spend Valentine's Day together after all. Plagg rolled his eyes.

"You're hooking yourself onto one girl, hoping for something to come from nothing. You haven't even told Ladybug how you feel."

"That's because there's never been a chance!" He spun back to face his partner who downed another piece of cheese. "I try to tell her but every time I get close to doing so, something always happens."

"Then maybe that's fate saying you shouldn't."

"Fate or not, I'm going to tell her. At least it'll make me feel better to be rejected than not."

"Great. Then maybe you can move on to more important things like finding me more cheese." It was now Adrien's turn to roll his eyes. Turning back to the desk, he eyed the pile of gifts, hesitantly reaching out to study them. There were even a couple from out of the country. He stopped, however, when his eyes landed on a red, heart shaped card, his heart kicked into over drive as his body almost lunged for the said thing. Plagg bristled in shock. "Dude," he whined. He started to say more but stopped himself as he turned to face his chosen whose eyes had gone completely wide and his face grew redder and redder the longer he read the card. By the time he was done, all Adrien could manage was a squeak. Plagg, curious by nature, flew up to read over his shoulder. He recognized the handwriting immediately from the exact same card that had been sent the previous year and his grin grew wider and wider until he got to the bottom and saw that there was a name to finally go with the sender.

Marinette.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Being the laid back, too-important-for-your-human-love-story kind, Plagg snickered. "Well, there you go. Guess you found your Juliet kid."

Adrien squeaked. Eventually he stuttered out, "B-but…. Marinette!"

"Yeah, that's what the name reads as. Last name is Dupain-Cheng. We only know one of those right?" Plagg snickered the more Adrien became flustered.

"This isn't funny Plagg. I don't like Marinette like that!"

"Uh-huh. Sure."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Kid, I know you're oblivious but this is taking it to new heights."

"What's that supposed to mean?! Plagg!"

The cat flew off to hide, leaving his chosen to fluster over his words but before he could do anything, his phone started buzzing, alerting him to an akuma warning. Without hesitating, he jumped over the couch and to the TV were Mrs. Chumack stood on the screen, face laced with concern, as she reported the happenings on the street of Paris. He stared at the screen. "The citizens of Paris are terrorized once more as a new akumatized victim, a man calling himself Love Rage, turns innocent bystanders into rage filled minions who are taking over the streets by attacking and destroying whatever they can get their hands on." The picture turned to a crowd of angry looking citizens with red glowing eyes as they growled at anything and everything, lunged at people and inanimate objects alike, and then proceeded to move to the next destroyable object. "Ladybug and Chat Noir are still nowhere to be seen. Will Paris finally fall to Hawkmoth's evil?"

"Not today it won't," he muttered. "Plagg, get down here!"

He raised his head to eye him before dropping back down. "No way. I'm not going."

"You're not getting a choice. Plagg, claws out!" The cat gave a yelp of surprise before spiraling into the ring, thus transforming his partner into the hero Chat Noir, who climbed out the window of the Agreste Manor.

 **MLMLMLMLML**

Chat Noir looked down on the city below. His bright green scanned the horizon as he watched the mayhem below and then up on the horizon. His tail twitched. Where in the world was Ladybug? He'd been here for a good ten minutes looking for her and the akuma- with no luck on either front. The sun had set some time ago. He was running out of options; attacking the civilians below wasn't one and he knew from past experience that taking on the minions one by one never did them any good so finding the head akuma, purifying them, and then helping the innocent people find their ways home was the way to go. He reached for his baton trying once more to reach his partner. He stood when it failed to go through, muttering, "Come on LB. I could really use your help right about now."

He wasn't dumb. Adrien Agreste was intelligent; he had to be of course if he wanted to keep going to school after all. He'd also come up with plans in the past when helping with an akuma like Reflekta. This, however, was a little odd.

Especially since he had no idea where to start looking.

His eyes scanned the ground again as he watched the crowd go wild. The longer he looked, the more he realized that there appeared to be more victims joining the larger crowd from a singular direction. Without waiting, he headed that way. The stream of mindless minions eventually thinned out to one or two every now and then but it was enough to lead him straight to doors of the Louvre where he saw a rather large, hulking figure, and a smaller, blue haired figure step into the doors. Every now and then there came a bright blast of light. It didn't take much for him to figure out that he'd just seen the akuma Love Rage and one of his minions invade the inside. More minions came out one by one. The night security he guessed. Chat cleared the next couple of roofs, out of sight of the people below as they continued to destroy and terrorize the streets of Paris, until he came to a skylight opening at the top of the building; it was one that both of the superheroes had used at least once before to break in and save Paris. He quickly scanned the area. No one minded him. Good. He jumped through.

He knew the Louvre by heart having grown up in Paris and having had to visit many, many, many times throughout his life. Even without his night vision, he would have been fine. He could clearly make out the shapes of the artwork and the statues placed strategically around the building to catch the eye of the thousands of visitors who visited annually. His eyes glowed green. The magic of the suit turned the world around him to a muted green as he could see in the dark and he used it to creep forward, listening, and searching. His ears twitched. He turned his face in the direction. There was a soft murmuring coming from one of the largest rooms in the building and he worked his way forward to it. Hiding on the outside of the door frame, he peered inside.

The room was open and in the center was a display stand of some kind that was being used as a seat for the akuma who watched in mild amusement as his minion trashed the room around him. He watched as the girl reached up, disregarded the alarms, and tore down paintings, knocked down statues, and made an overall general mess of the place. Chat flinched with each sound.

"Alright," he murmured to himself, "First things first. I've got to figure out where the akuma is so LB can purify it when she gets here."

He leaned further around the door frame. His face fell when he realized that the akuma was now staring at the door, a wicked grin on his face.

Crap.

He knew.


	4. Chaptdr 4

Chat Noir straightened and walked into the room. There was no need to hide if the villain already knew he was there. The akuma started clapping as he walked in, the sound of destruction stopped as the minion returned to her master's side, and his face fell as he recognized the girl standing in front of him, eyes glowing red, and a soft growl coming from her lips.

Marinette.

The superhero froze. A slow hand reached back for his baton but it was halted when Love Rage growled, "How kind of you to join us Chat Noir. It's too bad Ladybug can't be here but I'm sure we'll have fun until she arrives."

His heart skipped a beat, "Ladybug'll be here for sure."

He snickered, "A loyal cat." Love Rage shot his eyes between Marinette and him; Chat didn't miss the motion. His heart fell because if the look meant anything, he wasn't going to like what it meant. A maniacal laugh tore from his throat and he growled out, "For now, I'll just have to settle with taking that ring off of your finger for Hawkmoth. Get him my minion! Show him the power of Love!"

Marinette let out a louder growl before lunging right at him. Fear shot through his system and Chat side stepped out the way with a shout of surprise. The akuma continued to laugh. The superhero caught himself, steadying himself as within seconds, she was back, this time with a broken piece of art in her hands, that she swung at his head. He ducked down. Chat started to swing at her mid-section but stopped, remembering that she was still a civilian, but it didn't stop her from swinging down. He barely had time to pull his baton up to stop the piece from connecting with his head. A grunt escaped his throat and his ears twitched at the sound of the akuma's continual laughter. Staring up, he found the girl he knew to be completely intimidating, her face twisted into an angry snarl, eyes glowing completely red, any and all acknowledgement of him as being a hero was completely gone.

She was a puppet.

A very dangerous puppet.

Was she always this strong?

Marinette pushed down on her weapon, causing his arms to strain to hold her away from his face. She growled again and released one hand to swing the other down. He barely dodged by moving his head to the left.

Chat had to get her off of him. He pulled a leg up, leveraged it under her as best as he could, before shoving upwards. Marinette flipped up. He was kind enough to remember to grab her arms and land her gently on the ground before he scrambled to his feet and created some distance between them again. She didn't hesitate though. Marinette shot back up and came running at him, swinging. He barely had time to dodge as she came, swinging left, then right. He blocked the last one and swung back but, surprisingly, she dodged it easily, grabbing his wrist and flinging him across the room. Chat hit the wall on the opposite side. She was fast, strong, and intimidating. How in the world was he supposed to take her on? She didn't give him a chance to figure it out because just as soon as he started to right himself, she was back, slamming hard into his shoulders with the weapon. The suit kept him from feeling the pain but it didn't stop him from getting winded with each hit until he managed to roll out of the way and send a kick to her mid-section. It sent her back some distance clutching her stomach.

"Sorry Mari," he called as he righted himself. She didn't respond except to grunt.

This was realistically going nowhere fast. He wasn't able to hurt Mari, she was just straight up beating him, and he wasn't able to get anywhere near the akuma to at least find the akumatized item.

Chat had only one option.

Springing, he ran for the entrance. He needed to put some distance between him and her and seriously re-think his plan.

He heard the akuma order, "After him! Don't let that miraculous get away!"

He looked around and noticed a nearby pillar. Thinking quick, he called for his cataclysm, brushing his hand along the bottom of said structure, but he didn't stop to see if it blocked the pathway anyway; it was large enough it would take a civilian a while to climb over to get at him. He'd be able to hide by then.

A low growl took him by surprise. Chat shot a quick look back over his shoulder and, with dismay, realized that Marinette was jumping over the pillar as if it was nothing.

He had to blink to make the red spotted suit disappear from his vision.

So much for that. It hadn't even slowed her down a second; she was still coming and he was running out of time. He shot his eyes around. There was a room off to his right that was pretty dark. Thankfully, in all black, he would be able to blend in to the shadows and, having nothing else to risk, Chat ducked in side. When he was out of sight, panting, he whispered, "Claws in." He glowed a bright green temporarily and Plagg spiraled out of the ring.

"Duuuude," he whined. Panicked, Adrien quickly hissed at him to be quiet. Thankfully, he didn't hear the low menacing growl of Marinette hunting him so he looked at his kwami and ordered him, "Go find some cheese fast and get back here. I'll try to hold her off as much as I can. If you see LB, tell her to get here on the double!"

A low laugh came from the opening of the room. There was a shadow that came from the other room into his hiding spot. Plagg phased out of the wall behind him. Adrien shrunk down as far as he could as Marinette stalked into the room, threateningly waving her weapon, as she sung, "Here kitty, kitty, kitty. Come out, come out, where ever you are."

He shrunk down more.

She stepped further into the room.

He wanted to close his eyes and hope she didn't spot him.

His foot slipped out from under him and he kicked the thing in front of him. Which turned out to be a display. With a very expensive looking vase on top. It fell with an ear splitting shatter which immediately made his hunter whip her head around, giving out another low growl as her eyes landed on his shape in the darkness. "Got you," she hissed, lunging for him. Adrien scrambled out of the way. He could hear her face connect with the wall and he hoped that meant he had a second to get away. As he started to run, he was surprised to find himself being tackled to the floor easily as if he were nothing. He grunted as his back connected with the floor. Stars circled in his eyes for a moment but when he was able to see clearly again, he wish he wasn't able to.

She loomed over him. Eyes glowing, face twisted in anger, she continued to growl as she readied herself for her attack.

But she stopped.

For a brief moment, he thought she had returned to normal because she shot backwards, hands going to cover her mouth for a moment. "A-Adrien," she stuttered. Relief washed over him. Marinette was back. He started to ask her something but it was quickly shut down as her face twisted once more and the evil smirk she'd been sporting all night returned, "I was really hoping for Chat Noir but I guess you'll do pretty boy." She grabbed his chin and roughly turned his face from side to side. "Too bad you were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

He was sure his heart skipped a beat. Or a hundred.

Marinette raised a fist, ready to drop it down on his face. Something tickled at the back of his memory. He didn't know where it came from, or why he thought it would work, but Adrien quickly reached up, grabbed her shoulders, which took her by surprise to say the least, and he pulled her down.

He closed his eyes for sure this time as his lips connected securely to hers.


	5. Chapter 5

Adrien wasn't sure what he expected. However, he wasn't prepared for what came from Marinette Dupain-Cheng; even though she was still being controlled, she yielded to him, her lips melding into his, tasting of sweetness and softness. He was very aware of every inch of her. The way she moved. The way she breathed. How her shoulders seemed to relax and her body slump as the spell that held her finally broke. After what seemed like an eternity, the kiss ended. Marinette shot up, eyes blinking as they returned to their normal, bluebell color, shaking her head to clear the remaining fog as she looked around in the darkness.

"Uh… where am I," she asked. Still dazed, she blinked when she realized the ground was moving beneath her.

Green met blue as she looked down.

If Adrien thought Marinette was athletic while being controlled, he almost wasn't ready for the way she shot straight up and off of him, eyes wide, and hands covering her mouth. He couldn't see the raging blush on her nose in the dark. "A-A-A-A-A-Adrien," she managed to stutter out. A crashing sound interrupted them and her head snapped around, temporarily forgetting that she had just been sitting on her long term crush, and remembering that there was an akuma to handle. "I-I-I'll go see if I can find Ladybug or Chat," she called, running out the door.

Adrien didn't respond.

He couldn't respond.

He continued to lie on the floor where Marinette had knocked him. There came the sound of explosions nearby and he knew, rationally, that he needed to get up and move but he couldn't. The energy was gone from him.

A small black shadow crossed his face. Plagg hovered over him, staring down, "Hey kid… we need to go."

He swallowed, "I kissed her Plagg."

The kwami rolled his eyes, "Yeah I know. Came back in enough time to see the end of that."

"I kissed her Plagg."

"Right. We've established that. But there's an akuma we need to handle. Like now." His ears twitched. "And from the sound of it, Ladybug's finally shown up."

"I kissed her."

"To break the control kid. Are you going to sit here all night and freak out about this? I'm going back to enjoy my camembert if you don't move it now." Adrien shot up. His face was completely red and he ran a hand through his hair. What in the world was he supposed to feel? How could he face Ladybug? Plagg watched him, his tail swinging back and forth in the air. "What's eating you kid?"

"I liked it Plagg," he barely whispered. "I liked kissing Marinette." (Plagg's thought bubble: F-g finally). Another explosion rocked the room to its foundation and Adrien moved out of the way just in time to not get smashed by another vase. The kwami tisked.

"Worry about that later. Can we please handle this problem so we can go home?"

The explosion seemed to do the trick. Adrien nodded and stood. He called for his transformation. Once he had returned to the black cat suit, he rushed out of the room, eventually out of the building to the courtyard where Ladybug and Love Rage stood, facing each other down. He fired a blast at her. She deflected with her yo-yo. Chat landed right next to her, his eyes glowing green in the evening.

"Good evening my lady. Lovely to see you," he commented.

Ladybug shot a look back over her shoulder. "Sorry Chat. I got caught up in some personal business."

"I had it under control," he lied. She rolled her eyes and nodded down the nearly completely destroyed street.

"Right. Looks that way. Run distraction?"

Chat reached for his staff. He pulled it out, elongated it, and shot her a determined look. "My pleasure my lady."

He took off for the akuma. Love Rage kept blasting his nasty little beam towards the black cat running his way. Chat blocked and dodged, jumping where he could until he was right on the villain, bringing his staff down in a swing. Love Rage deflected it with his arms. He staggered back but came back quickly with the staff. It was blocked again. This pattern of swinging, blocking, staggering, and repeating continued for several minutes. Chat grunted as the akuma managed to land a kick to his mid-section. He skidded back a bit and gripped the area, willing the pain to quickly go away; it did him no good. Love Rage came up, hand extended, ready to blast. The grin he gave was pure malice.

Suddenly, the lights in the area got brighter. "Chat! Shut your eyes!" He did as commanded. The akuma, confused and disorientated, howled in frustration as the ability to see was harshly taken away from him. He swung wildly, blasting in all directions, until Ladybug, wearing a rather stylish looking pair of sunglasses, swung in with a piece of rope she'd found on the side of the building for renovations and wrapped him up nice and neat. Unable to move, Love Rage squirmed in his bindings before falling face first onto the concrete. She stood over him triumphantly. He growled but could do nothing. A seconds worth of searching his pockets allowed her to find a Valentine's Day card that was colored purple. Ladybug tore it. Love Rage howled louder. A tiny, weak, purple butterfly flew out of it. She immediately dropped her yo-yo, "No more evil doing for you little akuma," she flung it and with its weakened state, the akuma couldn't escape. She pulled her weapon back in with a successful, "Got'cha!" Opening it revealed a pure white butterfly which she bade farewell. The last thing she did was toss her sunglasses skyward. "Miraculous Ladybug!" The tiny dots of red spread out across the city, repairing all of the damage and waking the minions from their trance, allowing them to stagger their way home in their confusion to at least try and save what remained of their Valentine's Day.

The akuma changed back too, revealing the confused face of Thomas. He looked around, "Where…?"

"I think this is yours," Ladybug soothed, handing him back the card. He reached for it and his face fell again.

"Thank-you. It was supposed to be for my boyfriend but we… we got in an argument and… fought. It was so stupid." He laughed darkly. "I don't even remember what it was about." He swallowed his words trying hard not to cry. Suddenly, a shout came from behind them. A man, dressed in a loose jacket and sweats, hair disheveled, came running towards them, tackling him to the ground. Ladybug and Chat fist pounded and snuck off as the two of them started talking.

The last thing they heard were apologies.

Ladybug followed Chat to a nearby building. Once there, they paused for a moment to talk. Her face was red and it looked like she was about to cry but she evenly managed, "Chat Noir! I'm so sorry about tonight. I didn't mean for you to have to fight the akuma alone…."

"No problems bug," he flexed, "I'm more than capable of handling an akuma on my own." She rolled her eyes and reached over to flick his forehead. He rubbed the spot.

"Right. And just how were you going to purify it?"

"I was getting around to it," he assured her. The light chuckle that came from her showed just how much faith she had in that. Her earrings gave off a resounding warning that her time was up. "Ah, you better get going LB. Don't want your secret identity to be revealed and all that." She paused. Something didn't sound right in his voice.

"Are you alright Chat?" He nodded, waving a hand.

"Perfectly fine. Just a bit tired is all."

She knew he was lying. The look on his face told her that but before she could ask why, her earrings alarmed again. A swift hand upwards to touch them couldn't quell the sound. The passage of time wasn't that easily stopped and so, begrudgingly, she reached for her yo-yo, tossed it off to the nearest building, and said, "Go home and get some rest Chat. I'll see you later."

"Good night my lady," he waved. Ladybug tugged on the string and took off into the night. He watched her go for a minute before moving of his own accord.

He wasn't going home just yet.

He had one more place he needed to visit.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: By now you should all know I live in the Marichat Trash corner. Have some Marichat trash (including confused Chat). Enjoy (and please review)!**

Chat Noir had often dreamed of his first kiss. It was supposed to be with Ladybug, at the top of the Eiffel tower, after a night of romancing her with dancing and a picnic dinner packed by his chefs and he would win her with some of his best puns and then and then….

The daydream shifted. For the first time it wasn't Ladybug that leaned into him; it was Marinette.

His face erupted into flames and he had to stop running or else risk falling flat on to the street below. A hesitant finger touched his lips. The kiss had been… so familiar, so warm, so gentle. His brain spun in memory. Inwardly, he wanted to do it again (with her permission of course) just to see if maybe it was the spell or something that caused it to be so good. A dark chuckle rose out of his throat: what in the world was he thinking? Of course it wasn't the spell!

However, his stomach fell when he realized that he was going to have a much bigger issue at hand to deal with.

What did he feel for Marinette?

What about Ladybug?

A muffled, high pitch scream caught his ears which twitched in the general direction; turning revealed to him that, without meaning to, he had stopped on the building right across from the Dupain-Cheng bakery and, consequently, Marinette's room. He remembered the pink walls he'd seen when he'd visited for the video game tournament, where her desk and lounge chairs were, how her room was decorated very distinctly in "Marinette style" (boo-yah) and the memories brought a soft smile to his face. Standing where he was though, he could see into the circular window that looked in on the space where her lounge was. Marinette was there. She had her back to him, sitting with her face down in a pillow, hugging it tight, as she kicked her feet a bit and clearly screamed into said piece of fabric. Eventually, she raised her head. She started talking to someone else in the room, he tilted his head a bit in confusion, but there was nobody there that he could see. Maybe she was talking out loud?

Regardless, he wanted to talk to her. Chat cleared the divide between the buildings with ease, landing on her balcony with a soft thud. Apparently she hadn't heard him because her conversation was still going on.

He had to stop though when her words hit his ears.

First there was a moan. It was followed by, "I don't even remember the situation!" Pause. Then, in a half strangled voice, she begged, "Please explain to me how I ended up straddling my crush in the Louvre in the middle of the night?"

That stopped him for real.

Chat felt like his brain was going to explode. If not that, then his heart. Or his face as it turned as red as his lady's suit.

Marinette has a crush on Adrien?

Marinette has a crush on _him_?

No, that can't be right. Maybe his hearing was off or something was wrong. Maybe it was Alya she was talking to and coming up with a story… maybe… maybe….

He took a deep breath, willing the heat to stop tormenting his thinking. His emotions were out of wack and a certain kiss was definitely the reason and the questions that came with it but unless he did something, besides creepily standing on the balcony of the girl he'd kissed earlier that evening, then nothing was going to be achieved. Chat raised a hand to clear his throat. After a few deep breaths, a calming of his emotions, he walked over to her balcony entrance and gave it a solid knock.

There came a thud from inside. A soft, "Hide" came from below followed by the sound of quick footsteps up to the door. It opened hesitantly at first. Then, when her bluebell eyes landed on him, it opened all the way. Marinette stared up at him, wide-eyed, lips slightly parted, "Chat Noir! What are you doing here?"

Another cough helped to clear his throat since it seemed his voice wanted to go into hiding, "Good evening Purrincess. I just wanted to come and check on you since the akuma seemed to have taken a fancy to you this evening." It was a half-truth but she wouldn't know that. "How are you feeling?"

Shock crossed her face for a second. It morphed into a soft smile, "I'm alright. A little dizzy and disorientated about it but I'll live." A sudden thought made her gasp and she covered her mouth with her free hand, "I just remembered! What about Adrien? He was there tonight!"

"Don't worry," he assured her, "M. Agreste was returned home safely. I made sure of it purrsonally." Her shoulders slumped in relief.

"Really? _Merci_ Chat. I'm glad." She shook her head. "I was just so confused…."

"There's nothing for you to be upset about. It happens purrincess." He thought back to the times he had come back from being controlled from several of the past akumas. "He would probably be happy to your concern for him."

She blushed. "You think so?" He nodded with a smile. They fell silent and, maybe it was just him, but the air felt heavy and charged, like they didn't know how to react to each other anymore. Her face stayed red. His grew redder with each second. It was almost impossible to keep his eyes from wandering to her lips, reliving the memory all over again. Only the clearing of her throat was enough to pull him out of his thoughts, "Would you like to come in Chat? My parents just went to bed but I could get us some leftover goodies from downstairs…." His stomach rumbled. Placing a hand didn't stop the noise. Her smile widened, shook her head, and rolled her eyes, clearing the way for him to come in which he did, landing carefully onto her bed.

Inside the bedroom was exactly as he remembered it. Marinette led the way down the stairs and into the rest of her room, where she motioned for him to sit on the lounge he had just seen her on.

"I'll be fast. Just wait here a moment." Chat Noir nodded, crossing his legs on her lounge and looking a little like a lost kitten. Once she was gone, he took the moment to really look around the room. It was decorated with all the essentials for living of course and then some; she had a clear work space where one of her newest creations laid waiting for her magic to finish it into the magnificent thing it would become. He smiled. Then his face fell a bit in shock. For the first time, he noticed a lot of photos pinned to her wall. A lot were of her friends. School trips. Hanging out. However there were more. Lots more. It wasn't unusual to see photos of himself since half of Paris was probably decorated with it. It was though to see so many in her room. Had they been there the last time he'd come over? There was no recollection of them in his memory so maybe she took them down so he wouldn't see just how badly she had it for him.

Marinette really did have a crush on him.

Chat's face twisted. He wasn't sure what to think anymore. Things were happening too fast. On one hand, he was greatly pleased by this development. He liked Marinette as a friend, he knew how strong, courageous and confident she was, and he knew he really liked the way she kissed but then…

He just couldn't get over Ladybug that easily. He'd been crushing on her over a year and year with such strong emotions was not so easily forgotten.

"What in the world are you looking at?" He turned, the red thankfully hidden by his mask a bit as he turned to find Marinette sitting a small tray of food down on the lounge, raising an eyebrow at him. A slow smirk crossed his face.

"I see why you were so worried about M. Agreste," he teased. Her face turned red again. She waved her hand dismissively when it was free of the tray.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She started pouring some tea. Chat slinked up to her, the desire to tease her growing strong, and to get some answers direct from the source.

"You have a crush on him. I mean, who wouldn't? Tall, handsome, and Gabriel Agreste's son. He's a total package."

She spun on him. It was terrifying to see such anger radiating out of her usually calm blue eyes. He straightened to get away from the intensity of the look she was giving but she didn't back down or even notice his discomfort. He would've thought that after earlier this evening, he would have been prepared but that wasn't the case; the sudden state of anger radiating off of her at the way he'd described Adrien threw him for a loop. Waving a finger, she corrected, "Adrien is far more than that. He's kind and funny and intelligent. He's one of the nicest people I know and honestly, he deserves the whole world. I didn't crush on him for his looks."

Chat blinked before managing to whisper, "You like him that much uh?"

Marinette sighed and backed off, turning to hand him a cup and cookie, and then offered him a seat on the lounge next to her. He took everything gratefully. Taking a bite, he asked, "Have you told him?" She coughed. Her tea almost went on her shirt but she quickly pulled her cup up to catch it.

"Tell him? Are you crazy! It's not that Adrien's not easy to talk to… it's just… it's just…." She set her cup down, diverting her eyes. "Every time I get near him, my heart pounds, head spins, and the ability to be normal just disappears out the window. Asking him out would never happen. Not now at least."

"Have you tried?"

She laughed. His ears twitched in the direction as it sounded like bells to him. "No, I haven't. Even if I could work up the nerve, I can't stop my brain from turning to mush and all that manages to come out is clumsy and confusing and downright embarrassing."

"You should try asking him out Purrincess," he whispered, "I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised."

"Oh really?"

"Really." He paused, his tail switching back and forth, a slow smile appearing on his face. "Out of curiosity, what would you do on a date with him anyway?"

"Don't you know curiosity killed the cat," she teased, poking his nose. He wrinkled it but didn't look away, waiting. She sighed then mumbled, "Probably stare the whole time." Chat Noir jumped up, startling her. He stared at her like she had grown an extra head since he came into the room.

"That's no good! You gotta have a plan."

She sat her cup down, crossed her legs, and stared up at him with a devious smile, "What do you think we should do then?"

He hunched over, suddenly unsure of what to say. Marinette giggled at his exasperated expression as he looked anywhere to find the answer and then it hit him as he spotted a picture of Alya and Marinette in front of the movie theater. He snapped his fingers.

"The movies! Isn't there a new action blockbuster out?"

"Oh yeah. _Killer Swarm 5_ or something like that."

"See! You have a start. What about after?" She tapped her chin with a finger when it hit her.

"There's a new ice cream shop near the movie theater. Why don't we go there afterwards?"

"I'm sure he'll enjoy that." Marinette fidgeted on the lounge.

"Really?"

"Marinette," he soothed, coming back to the lounge. He gently took her hands in his, holding them tightly in assurance. She raised her face quickly. The look in his eyes was so soft and kind that for a second, she thought she was staring at Adrien again as he handed her an umbrella, but with a blink, the thought and image was gone. Her face lightly blushed. She'd only seen Chat look at her like this when she was Ladybug. It unnerved her, confused her, as plain old Marinette. "Marinette, trust yourself. You are a kind and courageous person. Adrien will love whatever plan you bring to him. You just have to work the nerve up to make the first step." She swallowed and nodded, unsure of what to say. A loud beep interrupted their moment and Chat Noir looked down quickly at his ring. He hadn't had to use cataclysm a second time but Plagg was probably exhausted from multiple transformations in one day; it was time for him to go. Releasing her hands, he stood, "Well Purrincess. That's my cue to go." He bowed to her. "I wish you all the best in your endeavors. Make sure to tell me all about it soon!"

"Chat Noir, go home," she huffed. He smirked and took off, ducking out the window he'd come in, but he didn't miss the soft, "Good night kitty," that came from below.

Chat Noir, superhero and currently the hardest crushing boy in all of Paris, took off into the darkening evening, more excited for school than he'd ever been before.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Look who rose from the dead to drop another chapter.**

Upon returning home, Chat Noir dropped into his room where a green glow immediately overcame him and thus reverted him to being Adrien Agreste. Plagg flew up and over to the couch.

He was laughing to the point of not being able to breathe.

Adrien huffed, face turning red. Walking past his couch, he went to his computer desk where he pulled out a thing of camembert and held it up for the kwami to come and get. Plagg did so when he could breathe, "You know there a lot of easier ways to get your new girlfriend to acknowledge that you're dating her."

"She's not my girlfriend," he mumbled. The idea didn't sound bad to him but they were nowhere near Facebook official and, besides, he had a lot of emotions to go through to even get close to deciding what he felt like. Sitting at his desk, he rocked back and forth for a moment, lost in thought. Today – yesterday, he corrected looking at the clock to reveal it was after midnight- was full of surprises. He reached over to pick up the card he'd received from Marinette. Tracing his finger over the edge, he re-read the message:

 _Your hair never lost its luster,_

 _Your eyes still gorgeous green,_

 _But now I know more of your innermost thoughts and dreams._

 _Last year at this time,_

 _your Valentine I said I'd be,_

 _And every day I see you,_

 _Continues to be that dream._

 _So this time, I ask anew:_

 _Will you be my Valentine_

 _to make our love come true?_

At the bottom was scrawled very neatly a signature he'd seen before; now he ran his finger over it as his eyes caught each letter, and the tiny heart over the 'I', reading, "Marinette."

He'd never figured Marinette liked him like that. At first, he was sure there was still some animosity between them from the gum incident even when he had apologized. Slowly though, they had become friends. Not as close as him and Nino or her and Alya but enough to have, what he thought, were pleasant conversations from time to time. He had no idea- how did she put it?- that her brain still turned to mush when she talked to him and, sure, some of the things she'd said and done were a little… curious but he never thought of them as embarrassing. Had he really made her feel that way? This whole time?

Plagg scarfed down a second piece of cheese. Adrien groaned and dropped his head to the desk.

"What am I going to do," he moaned. The cat kwami turned enough to eye his holder before finishing off the last bit.

"Apparently freak out over this and make a huge mistake," he noted.

"Not helping."

"Help's Tikki's department. Not mine." He licked his paw before smirking up at him. "But what about your lady," he sang, "You can't have two ladies at once."

"I know."

"You're going to have to let one go."

"I know."

"You're going to have to break one's heart."

"I KNOW," he grunted. Adrien shot back in his chair, a glare playing on his eyes. Plagg was staring at him seriously. It was a first for Adrien; the little black god never looked serious and seeing him this way deflated him in an instant, his face twisting, eyes going wide. He rose up to float in front of his face.

"Ladybug is your partner," he mused, "but Marinette is your princess. You've crushed on LB for a year. You only just discovered your feelings for Mari. One, or both, of these girls is going to hurt if you make the wrong move. You got a choice to make kid and it seriously is going to be damaging if you don't think this through. I know Tikki. She likes kind hearted heroes. It's a strength, true, but it can also be a flaw. Take it from me kid, you don't want to rush into this." He nodded dumbly. After a pause, he finished, "But why you would be worried with ladies when you can enjoy cheese is still beyond me."

"Plagg, I almost had a moment when I thought you were wise." Adrien gave him another piece of cheese. "But all you are is a pig."

"Camembert is so much better than love problems."

"Whatever you say," he sighed, turning back to his computer. An hour or so on the Ladyblog didn't help and eventually, he cut the device off, and went to bed.

 **MLMLMLMLML**

Marinette had never been so nervous in her whole life.

She'd actually woken up early, showered, dressed, and still had about thirty minutes before she had to get to school. It was time well spent working on a new dress design. Even then, the nervous energy wouldn't leave. She was jittery; she was sure that her heart was going to stop as some point today and she really, really, really did not want to face Adrien today. After all, it's not often that you're captured by an akuma and wake up straddling your crush.

A soft, pterodactyl screech came from her as soon as the thought crossed her mind. Tikki's head shot up. She flew down from the bed, worried. Marinette blushed apologetically, catching her in her hands, "Sorry Tikki."

"Everything alright Mari?" She rubbed her eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them as she waited for an answer from her chosen. Mari lightly kissed the top of her head.

"Everything's fine. I'm just… nervous. About today." That caught the magical little creature's attention. She smiled brightly, flying up. Today was February 15th- the day after Valentine's.

"Just have courage Marinette," Tikki advised, "Your life is going to change today! I'm sure Adrien loved your card and is going to be the one to ask you out on the date!"

"And what if he doesn't?" She face palmed, "I can't believe I'm actually considering using that date Chat Noir of all people helped me plan."

Tikki flew over to the desk, grabbing a fresh cookie Mari had brought up from her breakfast, chewing on it slowly as she asked, "What are you going to do if he doesn't?" She shrugged, brushing her hair. "You can't keep going like this Marinette. You're going to have to do something about this soon. You and Adrien are destined to be together!" She placed the brush down and came to sit next to her in her computer chair; laying her chin in her hands, she stared at her kwami who finished the last bite of her cookie. "Well?" Marinette sighed.

"Honestly Tikki… I don't know what'll I'll do. I'm so… new to all this." She breathed. "And I don't really want to talk to him today because of…. Yesterday." Her face erupted again. The kwami blinked but then smiled and patted her cheek.

"Don't worry about it now. We'll figure it out soon." She nuzzled the side of her face. "Promise."

Marinette giggled and nuzzled back. Looking up at the clock revealed that it was time to go, prompting her to grab her bag and head out for what was possibly going to be a very long day.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Notes: SURPRISE! A two chapter update! *eyes the pile I've been neglecting* Eh...**

The universe was out to get her. She knew it was. As Marinette had approached the school, the memory of waking up STRADDLING HER CRUSH FOR NO REASON the day before caused her face to turn red and stay that color; what made it worse, was that she couldn't even remember why she was on him! Chat had managed last night to give her some courage. However, with each passing second, she found her thoughts stuck on that memory and her stomach did nervous flips which caused that flame to die. She'd tried to distract herself to keep it strong. It didn't help. Now, as she approached the school, it was reduced to only a tiny flicker in her heart. She tried to hold that flame steady but, honestly, she still had to get over her embarrassment of the situation before she could even think of doing anything else.

The flame went out.

Alya was standing at the bottom of the stairs when she arrived. The two greeted each other, talking for a few moments, when a familiar sound caught their ears, turning them to face the street. Alya smirked. Marinette turned beet red.

Adrien Agreste had just arrived.

"Hey Adrien," Alya greeted. He looked up after he shut the door and the limousine took off, waving. He started towards them.

Marinette, however, turned and fled inside.

Alya was struck dumb at the suddenness of her friend's actions so she was left to shrug her shoulders to the blond boy who looked slightly confused. He merely smiled at her. Without a further word, he went inside to track down the girl who was currently in the process of running away from him.

Thus how Marinette came to believe that the universe was out to get her.

The rest of the day consisted of her trying her hardest to avoid Adrien Agreste and for some odd reason, him appearing out of nowhere in the same locations.

She made an excuse to Alya to run off to the theater room to talk to the teacher about some costume redesigns.

Adrien showed up a few minutes later to discuss donations from the Agreste foundation.

She needed to discuss the next PE class with the PE teacher.

Adrien needed to speak to D'Argencourt about his next fencing lesson.

She decided to eat lunch in the cafeteria.

Adrien was there too eating with Nino. It was odd enough since both of them usually went home to eat but she knew it wasn't a coincidence.

Marinette needed something from her locker.

Adrien was there a few moments later. She managed to avoid him by ducking her head, stooping her shoulders, and shuffling very quickly away, the blush raging on her face.

At the end of the school day, she leaned on Alya's shoulder, groaning loudly. The darker skinned girl gently patted her head. "Girl, what in the world is going on? You've been acting funny all day!" She groaned louder. Standing straight, she frowned at Alya who stared at her quizzically.

"Either the universe really hates me," she mumbled, "or Adrien has been following me around all day. I don't know which is worse!" She blinked.

"Girl. Did you just say that Adrien was following you around all day?" Marinette flinched.

"Er…. I mean…." She caught her arms then preventing the dark haired girl from running away and she was left to blush as the newswoman eyed her up and down, trying to tear the story right from her very core. When that didn't work, Alya squeezed her arms a bit.

"What happened? What are you not telling me?"

"Nothing happened," Mari squeaked. Alya frowned. It quickly turned into a smirk as she looked up the staircase, tapping her shoulder, and pointing.

"Then you should be perfectly fine saying bye to Adrien now hmmm?" She stiffened. Marinette then turned her head, her face going pale and her heart starting to race. Adrien and Nino were coming from upstairs, talking to each other animatedly about something, before he became aware of her presence at the bottom of the stairs. Once he did notice her, his face lit up. Hers got redder. Unable to take the pressure anymore, she ducked behind Alya with a squeak and clung to her for dear life; Adrien noticed and his face twisted temporarily but he quickly regained himself, waved to the two of them, and proceeded out of the door followed closely by Nino. Marinette released a sigh of relief once both boys were out of sight and Alya turned placing her hands on her hips, an eyebrow raised. "It's nothing," she mocked. Marinette slumped and bit her lip. When she didn't say anything Alya added, "You might as well tell me. You know I'm going to find out anyway."

"Oh alright," Mari grumbled. She took the other girl's hand. Leading the way to the bakery she added, "I'll tell you but not here and you have to promise to not laugh."

"After the scare you gave us taking that hit for me? You can't tell me there's anything funny that happened."

Thirty minutes later proved that assumption to be highly false.

At first, she was in shock because "O-M-G girl! You kissed Adrien Agreste!" which made Mari groaned and duck her face, mumbling that she wasn't sure if she had or hadn't. However, deep in the back of her mind, she remembered what had happened last year. When Chat had been captured by the akuma Dark Cupid and he had basically ended up on top of her (as Ladybug) and she had had to kiss him to wake him. There was some doubt in her mind about what happened but if they had repeated last year, then she could only continue to speculate as to what had occurred. But then, she lost it. Alya was on the lounge in Mari's room, ROLLING. Literally. Her hands were wrapped around her middle, legs bent and in the air, and she couldn't see because of the tears streaming from her eyes. Dear goodness. She'd missed EVERYTHING and it was killing her. Not as much as Marinette though as she sat in her rolling chair, face red (which she was one hundred percent certain meant it was that color for the rest of her life), hands tightly squeezed on her knees, and she stared at the ground.

"I thought you weren't going to laugh," she pouted. Alya sat up, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I'm sorry-not-sorry," she managed between gasps of air. Walking over to her friend, she wrapped her arms around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring hug, "But Mari, seriously, this might be your chance."

"My chance?"

"Your chance! Adrien might have wanted to talk to you about it?" She squealed, "What if he wanted to tell you he really liked it and wanted to try again just to be sure?"

Marinette sputtered, nearly falling out of her chair. "I doubt it. If he wanted to talk to me, it was to tell me that I'm a creep and that I need to be thrown in jail and then be blacklisted from the fashion industry after he tells his father what I did and…."

"I'm going to stop you there," Alya cut in, gently placing a finger on her lips. Marinette fell silent instantly. "Mari, what did Adrien do today to give you the idea he hated you? Nothing," she noted when the other girl failed to answer, "and I genuinely think he wanted to talk to you but he didn't want to force you into it; he's a pretty nice guy and he definitely can pick up on what other people are feeling or experiencing despite sometimes being oblivious. He wanted you to make the move. Set the grounds. Guide the conversation. Now you," she pointed to her smugly, "have got to use that to your advantage!"

"But what can I do," she asked, "Calling doesn't work. I can't talk to him face to face! And obviously mailing him something isn't the way to go," she pointed out. "He didn't mention anything about the Valentine's letters I've sent for the last two years."

The dark skinned girl thought for a moment. Finally, it hit her and she made a short exclamation that startled her. "I got it! Let's go super old school."

"Super… old school?"

"Yeah! Super old school." She looked around before grabbing a notepad and pen off of her desk and putting them in her hands. Marinette looked between the items and her friend, highly confused. Alya beamed. "Dudette, notes in the locker of course!" The light dawned in her mind. Marinette sat up straighter, her face lighting up for the first time that day.

"That's a great idea Alya!" She spun in her chair, facing the desk. She hesitated, "Er… what do I write?"

"How about just putting your number," she pointed out. "He doesn't have it yet right? What about date plans? Things you'd like to do?"

"Isn't it a little early to be talking date plans?" She shrugged.

"Fine, then just tell him you'd like to go to the movies." Marinette nodded. Starting to write, she wrote out a little friendly note that read: _Dear Adrien, I hope you are alright after the akuma incident the other day. I don't really know what happened. I'm sorry for how we ended up. I want to make it up to you somehow. Would you like to go to the movies with me this Saturday?_ _Love_ _Your classmate, Marinette_. She held it up for Alya to see. After she read over it a couple of times, she let out yet another squeal of delight, hugging the other around the throat.

"All that's left," she encouraged, "is to get it to him tomorrow. How about we meet up early to do that before he arrives?"

Marinette nodded mutely. Alya gave her another hug before grabbing her and pulling her towards the stairs. She stumbled after her, "Where are we going?"

"Celebratory ice cream! My treat." Marinette blinked, rolled her eyes, but allowed herself to be dragged out of the room. Meanwhile, her heart was racing a million miles a minute.

She'd never been so excited for school before in her life.


End file.
